Manifest Destiny 1818-1853 Chapter 12

Section 1

The Oregon Country

Rivalry in the Northwest

• Oregon Country- located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains north of California– Includes the present day states of Oregon

Washington, and Idaho plus parts of Montana and Wyoming.

– Four nations had claims to the area; the United States, Great Britain, Spain and Russia.

Adams-Onis Treaty

• Americans wanted control of the Oregon Territory to gain access to the Pacific Ocean.

• John Quincy Adams helped in promoting this goal.– Signed a treaty with Spain for a northern boundary.

(northern California east to the rocky mountains)– Convinced Russia to give up claims to the western

part of the territory along the coast.– Made an with agreement with Britain for joint

occupation of the Oregon Country.

Mountain Men

• The first settlers in Oregon Country were not farmers but fur trappers– Beaver fur was in high demand in the eastern US and Europe.– John Jacob Astor established the American Fur Company

which allowed him to connect trade routes with the East, Pacific Northwest and China.

• Mountain Men were adventurous fur trappers who spent most of their time in the Rocky Mountains trapping and trading fur with Indians. – rendezvous- Mountain men met once a year during the

summer to exchange furs for supplies, for hefty bank notes. • When there were no more beaver to trap. The Mountain

Men became guides for travelers heading west to Oregon through the Rocky Mountains.

Settling Oregon

• Americans began traveling to the Oregon Country to settle in the 1830s.Reports of the fertile land persuaded many to take the journey. Economic troubles at home made new opportunities in the West look attractive.

The Whitman Mission

• In 1836 the Whitman family traveled as missionaries.– They wanted to bring Christianity to the Native

Americans. – They built a mission among the Cayuse people near

Walla Walla, Washington.– New settlers unknowingly brought measles killing

many Indian children. – Blaming the whites, the Cayuse killed the family and

11 others.• Despite the incident settlers continued to move

into Oregon.

The Oregon Trail

• In the early 1840s, “Oregon Fever” swept the nation. – The Panic of 1837 caused many to lose their

jobs and farms. – These people needed a new start.

• What better place than Oregon.

– The “great migration” began.• These pioneers were called emigrants because

they left the United States to go to Oregon.

The Oregon Trail continued

• The 2000 mile journey was difficult– The pioneers stuffed their cover wagons

called Prairie Schooners with supplies– They started their journey in Independence

Missouri and followed the trail west.• Across the Great Plains, along the Platte River,

and through the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. Then trails north along the Snake and Columbia rivers into Oregon Country.

The Divisions of Oregon

• Most Americans moved to the Willamette Valley– Between 1840 and

1845 the number of Americans in Oregon increased from 500 to 5000.

– British settlers remained at about 700.

• This raises questions of ownership of Oregon Country

Expansion of Freedom

• Americans had their sights set on occupying the entire continent. – John Quincy Adams

expressed in 1918 that it was as inevitable “as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea.”

Manifest Destiny

• John O’Sullivan put the idea in to more specific words. – It was the United States of America’s

“Manifest Destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us.”

“Fifty-four Forty or Flight”

• American’s insisted on ownership of Oregon.– During the election of 1844

Democratic candidate James K Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay because he supported American Claims for Oregon Country.

– Fifty-four Forty or Flight was the campaign slogan for Polk.

• It refers to the line of latitude that Democrats believed should be the nations northern boundary.

Reaching a Settlement

• President Polk pushed for ownership of Oregon.– Britain did not agree with the 54’ 40 line cause

they did not want to give up most of their claim.

– Finally they reached a compromise at the 49’N latitude line as the boundary.

• At the same time the US was focused on Oregon, much attention was on Texas as well.